Raising awareness

Dr. Blake Woodside, medical director of the eating disorders program at the Toronto General Hospital in Ontario, says that changing the public perception of eating disorders is imperative in helping males overcome body images challenges.

“Raising awareness is probably the most important thing,” he said. “We have to lower the bar a little bit about being concerned when men lose a lot of weight.”

Recently, the National Eating Disorder Information Centre launched a campaign to bring more attention to the issue, with a poster carrying the caption, “Men with Eating Disorders: It’s not the Name of a Band.”

Woodside notes that, developmentally, skinny teenage boys tend to be the norm, and that parents might not think twice about a son’s thin frame.

Dual diagnoses

Studies have shown that men with eating disorders are more likely to also have mental health problems, like anxiety and depression, making them an even more vulnerable population.

Dr. Ted Weltzin, medical director of eating disorders services at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, says that men develop eating disorders for the same reasons women do: to have a sense of control, to fit in or to cope with poor body image issues.

And health experts agree that, in general, males are largely being ignored when it comes to prevention and treatment.

“It’s been a longstanding gap in the areas of understanding early intervention and treatment in eating disorders,” said Merryl Bear, director of the National Eating Disorder Information Centre, a nonprofit organization based in Toronto. “Men have been neglected in that area.”

The information provided on EatingDisorders.com is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. This information is solely for informational and educational purposes and we encourage all visitors to see a licensed physician if they believe that they have an eating disorder. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Neither the owners or employees of EatingDisorders.com nor the author(s) of site content take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading this site. Always speak with your primary health care provider before engaging in any form of self treatment. Please see our Legal Statement for further information.